After the Comet
by DestinySkyDemon
Summary: The actions of 2 fated lovers saved the people of Itomori, reuniting them at last. Despite this, it would be a little longer before their happy ending. Continuing where the movie left off, detailing a romance that develops between Taki and Mitsuha, along with further conflicts that are presented after they reunite. (Conflicts begin after initial chapters)


**(A/N)**

Longer A/N at the end, however, right off the bat I will say this fic was heavily inspired by the 2 fics "Kimi no na wa: Future" by Alyena2x and "Time Fliers" by K242, along with the fanmade doujinshi "Kimi no na wa: Afterstory" by zzz on Pixiv, translated on facebook by localmoonmantranslations, along with, hilariously, the hentai doujinshi "Your Inside" (242510). I will undoubtedly by borrowing concepts and ideas from these in the future, so give credit where credit is due and check them out, well, maybe not the last one but you get the gist. Now onwards to the fic!

**\- Taki -**

"Kimi no, namae wa?" We both ask in unison, my heart pounding vigorously at the prospect of finally finding the someone I was searching for all this time. Was this it, an end to the loneliness, the yearning, that had been ingrained into my life? Was this the end, the end of me waking up day after day, feeling as if what I wished for was all but a fleeting dream? Yet, it felt like I was forgetting something in this moment...

Ah. How could I forget? "Where are my manners? My name is Tachibana Taki, nice to meet you."

**\- Mitsuha -**

Tachibana Taki. My heart flutters at the sound of his name, like a part of my being that I had lost was restored after all this time. I knew, this man, looking at me from atop the stairs, was the someone I had searched for all these years following the comet strike of my hometown. The name felt right, like it was there all along within my mind, like an old skill I had forgotten.

Memories flooded into my brain, and my eyes widen. I gasp, my hand moving to cover my mouth. That's right, I did know the name before! About a month before the comet strike, I had met Taki for the first time. The memories are fuzzy, but I know for certain. For that duration of time, I had been swapping bodies with the man in front of my eyes while I dreamt, and we had grown very close despite never having had a conversation face to face. While the memories are murky, my emotions are crystal clear, waves of joy and excitement from the times I had spent as Taki flooding into my heart and nearly overwhelming me.

I took a moment to calm my raging emotions, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Not now, later. First I have to tell Taki my name, make him remember-

Ah. I was silent all this time, wasn't I?

"S-Sorry, I got a bit distracted." I take a deep breath, "My name is Miyamizu Mitsuha. Do you remember me, Taki?"

**\- Taki -**

Miyamizu Mitsuha. Just hearing that name was like music to my ears, my heart filling with a warmth that I hadn't quite experienced all these years since my irrational trip to Itomori-

Wait. Itomori…

Like water rushing out of a burst dam, memories flowed into my mind. Itomori, the town where I had spent about a month before the 'first' time I had traveled there. There, in front of me, on the staircase was the girl who I had swapped bodies with as I dreamt. The memories are fuzzy, just barely touching my fingertips but not yet fully within my metaphorical grasp, yielding only broad strokes to the canvas of my mind.

Despite this, the emotions I experience at this moment are best described as euphoric, like a part of my heart, my soul, had been restored at long last, like it was the first time the sun truly felt warm against my body in not just a physical sense.

My breathing quickens. 5 years. After 5 long, melancholic years, I have finally found her.

"Mitsuha…" I whisper, tasting the name I had sought out and had forgotten those fateful years ago. Once again, it seemed correct, like a weight had just lifted from my soul like that of the sky was taken of Atlas' shoulders after an eternity.

"Mitsuha!" I can't resist, exclaiming her name, etching it into my very soul and burying it deep into my being. Never again will I forgot, I refuse. Rushing down the steps, I leaped at her, embracing her in my arms. Never again will I lose her, the world or time itself be damned.

**\- Mitsuha - **

Taki's embrace is tight, yet not painful. At this moment, all I can do was embrace him back, clinging onto him with equal enthusiasm, etching everything about him into my soul. The smell of his hair, the feel of his arms around my torso and mine around his, all of this I would etch and hold onto to my dying day.

Never again will I go through the painful, cold hell that had encased my heart in ice in the last 8 years. Now, that time was over, and in my arms is the one I had sought all this time. My heart overflows at this moment, and I cling on even tighter, as if letting go would be the end of the world.

"Taki…" I whisper into his shoulder. He heard it, his grip tightening in response, an affirmation that this was real, and not just a mere dream. Tears flowed and run off my cheeks like rain off a window, falling onto his shoulder and wetting his suit, my muffled sobs of joy audible through his shoulder. Yes, this was real, this wasn't a dream.

**\- Taki -**

Mitsuha's tears stained my suit, but despite that, I just can't care less about it. It was her, after all, what was an ill-fitting suit worth in comparison to the reunion that I had sought for the lesser part of a fourth of my life? Even now, her tears of joy and muffled sobs echoed into my soul, the moment never to be forgotten.

It was an eternity before I finally manage to get Mitsuha to calm down and let go, although I have no one to blame but myself for initiating the act in the first place. We each took a step back, the landing in the stairs providing enough space for us to view each other once more. As she wiped her tears, I took in her appearance, having never focused on it up until now. She was stunning, having grown to just below my height, her light orange shirt and pink cardigan complimenting her well. As I moved up, I noticed a star necklace around her neck, most likely as a reminder of the comet that had struck Itomori.

"Taki…" I look up, eyes connecting. Her eyes were slightly red, yet there was a definite joy and excitement present. The sight of her brought the beginnings of tears to my eyes, an indescribable feeling bubbling in my chest in response to her joy. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah…" I weakly responded, words escaping me at the moment. What can I say? I have so much I want to ask, to tell, yet at this moment the task or using words seems to be an impossible task.

Ok, take it slow. I take a deep breath and composed myself. "It has, hasn't it? How have you been, Mitsuha?"

**\- Mitsuha -**

The sound of my name escaping his lips trigger a new rush of emotions through me, further warming the heart that had been chilled during our time apart. I smile in what seems like the first time in forever, despite knowing that I had smiled before during my time in Tokyo. Yet, those were never the true smiles from the bottom of my heart, only empty ones to keep appearances and satisfy my friends. Although knowing Sayaka and Tessie, they probably saw through that thinly veiled lie but chose not to push me to talk about it, something I am extremely grateful for. Now, the smile was genuine, fueled by the emotions brought about by our reunion.

"I'm fine now, Taki. My family moved to Tokyo after the comet, and I've been here for 8 years." I sigh, memories of the past 8 years present in my mind, namely the feelings of yearning that dominated every moment of it. "Say, did it always feel the same to you? Like you were missing something every day, like a constant yearning?"

"Yeah," He responded, mirroring my sigh, "It felt like every moment was incomplete, like I was missing something, someone, that was meant to be there, by my side, experiencing it with me. To think, all these years we were both in Tokyo, and only just now we finally see each other again."

"Well," I chuckle, "Haven't you become a smooth talker over the last few years? By your side, Taki? Are you saying I should be your girlfriend?", I tease, "Hmmm?"

"Wh-what-" He stutters, his face becoming flush due to my teasing. Ah, this was going to be fun. "I-I didn-"

"Relax, I'm just teasing." Honestly, now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind, but let's not rush thin-

**\- Taki -**

"Are you saying I should be your girlfriend?"

My face was still flush from her remark, but her words echo in my mind despite her reassurance.

Do I want her by my side? Yes. Without a doubt, I want to be with her. But, after 5 years, no, 8 years in her case, of separation, would she be interested? 8 years we have been apart, a non-factor in each other's lives. Would she accept or would she decline? Would she-

My mind flashes back to 5 years ago, to the first time I had seen Mitsuha in person

…

"_Hey, Mitsuha." I say, reaching behind my back and pulling out a magic marker, "So we don't forget each other after we wake up..."_

_She turns around and sees me pull out the marker, watching as I clasp her hand and begin to write, confusion apparent on her face. "Huh?" _

"_Let's write our names down." I finish, closing her palm and handing the marker to her._

"_Sure!" She agrees, taking the marker and holding my hand, beginning to write-_

_The marker clatters on the floor as Mitsuha vanishes, having been in the middle of writing the first stroke._

"_Mitsuha…?" I call out, unsure as to what had just happened. I try again, adding more power to my call._

"_Hey! Mitsuha!" My call goes unanswered, echoing from the summit at which I stood. She was gone, back to her time, acting to save Itomori's residents from their deaths._

"_I was gonna tell you…"_

…

No. Stop thinking down that line. I composed myself and took in a deep breath, the memory still fresh within my mind. Years ago I had missed my chance to express my feeling, having been just too slow. Now, I have another chance, and I didn't want to waste it. So I go for it.

"Miyamizu Mitsuha." The sound of her name seems to refocus her attention on me.

"Yes, Taki? What is it?" She responds, curious as to why I had called her by her full name. It was now or never. I take a deep breath. 3. 2. 1.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

**\- Mitsuha -**

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Those words, those simple five words, halted my entire world.

"Wha- What-" I stutter out, shock filling my mind and body, freezing it in place.

It was so sudden! I know I just teased him, but still! I didn't expect him to ask me out right away! Emotions ran like raging rapids in my mind, making thinking clearly a difficult task. I am happy, undoubtedly so, but there is confusion thrown in. We meet for the first time in 8, well 5 in his case, but that isn't important! This is the first time in years we meet each other, and he asks me out in minutes of meeting him!

Suddenly I'm drawn into my mind, back into the past, 8 years ago, October 4th, on the night the comet Tiamat split and obliterated Itomori.

...

"_Hey, Mitsuha." I turn my eyes away from the sunset, the time we had left slowly ending as the seconds tick by. Taki's voice draws my attention to him. "So we don't forget each other after we wake up," He takes out a magic marker, writing something in the palm of my right hand, much to my confusion._

"_Huh?" I respond, making my confusion apparent to him. _

"_Let's write our names down." Ah, that makes sense, we had done that at the beginning of our switching, hadn't we? "Here." He states, having finished writing in my palm, handing me the marker._

"_Sure!" I chirp out, taking the pen, and beginning to write-_

_Taki disappears, the marker vanishing from my hand right in the middle of my first stroke._

…

_I was running down the hill at a breakneck pace, the announcements from the real town hall blaring. Despite this, my mind wasn't focused on the announcements to stay in place, nor was it focused on what to do when I reached my father._

'_Who? Who?' The question repeats in my mind, a chaotic spiral pulling all my attention as I tried to solve the mystery._

'_Who is he?' My mind shouts, the desperation clawing at my mind._

'_Someone important. Someone I can't forget. Someone I didn't want to forget. Who? Who?'_

"_It split!" Someone commented. Myself, I realized. I gazed at the sight in front of my eyes, the horrifyingly beautiful moment reaffirmed by my voice as I ran. The comet had split._

_Yet, despite this, my mind isn't focused on it, still frantically searching for the answer to the question gnawing at my soul._

'_What is your name!?' I cry out within my mind._

"_AHH!" Suddenly, my foot collides with a damaged part of the road that had been pushed up, lifting my body into the air and sending it tumbling down the hill. Bumps and bruises form on my skin as I rolled down the road, yet my mind is still fixated on the question, the pain barely registering in my mind despite my cry of surprise._

"_Hey, Mitsuha…" A voice echoes in my mind, his voice. "So we don't forget each other when we wake up…" _

"_Let's write our names down." The realization snaps my eyes open, staring into my enclosed palm. That's right, if I just look at my palm…_

"_I love you."_

_..._

My heart beats in my chest like hammers striking metal on an anvil, the ringing echoing in my head as the memory fades, yet its presence still clearly in my mind to be drawn upon if I wished within my mind. The suddenness of the question had taken me aback, but even then I had known my answer, all those years ago.

I stared at my palm, where the words had faded over time, yet the feeling had remained. A confession that was unanswered for 8 years on my part. My shock gradually fades, replaced with a resolve that had unconsciously formed during all these years I had forgotten, the resolve to finally respond when I reunited with him.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, closing my palm and bringing my hands to my heart. It was settled. I open my eyes, my lips curling into the happiest smile I have ever had, and I spoke, clearly, from the bottom of my heart, my emotions imbued within my words.

"Yes, Tachibanna Taki. I will."

**(A/N)**

After the Comet will be my second attempt at a fic, so do please give me future ideas for this story and criticisms, all are welcome since I am a certified newbie to writing! Now, Kimi no na wa is a movie that currently holds a special place in my heart. The story was captivating, the visuals stunning, and the soundtrack and voice acting emotionally evoking, which lead me to be captivated by the film and the characters. Having just rewatched the film literally yesterday, it is safe to say it is one of my top favorites. Hence, why I was saddened by the lack of content here of Kimi no na wa. The ending left a hole in my heart, while undoubtedly happy it left me yearning for more, which made me do as I always did and turn to fanfiction, only to find that, while great fics in their own right, there were just very few Kimi no na wa fics of a satisfying length. I blame this on the fact that Kimi no na wa is a tightly knit story, contained within the entire movie, making it hard to expand much in the way of narratives, besides the obvious romance that can be written after the ending of the film. So, for the second time in my life, I felt motivated, after days of being sad and nostalgic listening to the beautiful soundtrack of the film (Shoutouts to Nandemonaiya, my favorite track), to try writing a fic. So, I hope you enjoy the first chapter of this fic, and I hope I can continue to impress in future chapters to come, assuming I don't get massive writer's block. Seriously, I need to plan out my fic more and pay more attention to keeping the characters to who they are, if my first fic (please don't read it) is anything to go by, hence why criticisms (constructive of course) is welcome. Alright, I rambled for long enough, CYA!


End file.
